


Shed Your Skin

by edibleflowers



Series: Throw Your Arms Around Me [2]
Category: Popslash
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-19
Updated: 2012-09-19
Packaged: 2017-11-14 14:51:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/516527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edibleflowers/pseuds/edibleflowers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The morning after the night before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shed Your Skin

**Author's Note:**

> My very first Backstreet crossover. Ulp. 
> 
> This one was actually written before "Throw Your Arms Around Me", though it's set after that.
> 
>  _and we may never meet again  
>  so shed your skin and let's get started_  
> \--Hunters & Collectors

He woke up in an unfamiliar bed. The room was dark, blinds and curtains drawn against the outside world, but he thought it was day; glancing at the digital clock on the nightstand, he was relieved to see that his internal sense of time was still on target.

Then his gaze fell to the body stretched beside him, and he froze.

It was true; it hadn't been a dream. He'd slept with Joey Fatone.

He managed to get it together, finally, forcing his heart to stop racing and kicking the covers back, putting long legs over the side of the bed. Where were his clothes? He had a vague flash: shirts being pulled off with frantic haste, needy kisses in the front hallway, jeans fumbled open on the stairwell. He peered at the floor, saw his boxers, and leaned -- gingerly, as his head felt tight and over-full -- to snag them.

Beside him, Joey shifted and muttered, the even rhythm of his breathing breaking up. Then his voice rumbled sleepily: "Hey, Kev."

Kevin Richardson put his head in his hands and silently groaned.

* * *

"Dude," Joey said, as the delicious smell of coffee began to fill the kitchen. "You don't have to act like it's the end of the world."

Kevin had showered and dressed, then allowed Joey to guide him down to the kitchen; now he sat at the table, his forehead braced on his palms, and stared at the woven placemat. Joey shuffled over -- unkempt, a little rough around the edges in pajama pants and an undershirt -- and sat down next to him. "What is it?" he asked.

"Where do I start?" Kevin closed his eyes. "I mean, just for starters, I cheated on Kristin. With a guy -- and not just with any guy, with one of the guys from our freakin' rival group. What if someone saw us dancing together last night, or coming here, or-- Oh, God, what am I gonna tell Kris?" He looked up at Joey, eyes full of worry.

Joey reached over, covering Kevin's wrist with one large palm. "Calm down, man. I think you're over-reacting. You know I wouldn't take that risk, first of all. And -- well, I don't know what to tell you about Kristin..."

The coffee finished brewing, and Joey got up, pulling mugs from a cabinet. Kevin leaned back in the chair, watching Joey move; he had an easy, lithe grace, surprising in a man his size. Memories of last night were filtering back: he recalled how he'd gone out to Tabu, was hanging in the VIP area having a drink when he'd spotted Joey dancing. Howie, laughing, had teased him about his infatuation with the 'N Syncer. Finally, with a few more shots of whiskey under his belt for courage, Kevin had made his way across the floor, leaned against Joey's back in a subtle invitation, and felt his heart twist when Joey turned, grinning, and ground himself into Kevin's hips. His eyes had been wired, fueled by alcohol, and Kevin forgot about everything but how good Joey felt.

And now this: Joey sliding a mug of coffee under his nose, and the aroma assailed Kevin's senses. For a second he thought he might be sick. He grasped the mug and drank, thankful for the way it seared his throat, gave him something physical to feel.

"You okay?" Joey asked, watching him with a blessedly steady gaze.

Kevin nodded, dropped his eyes to the mug cradled between his palms. His long fingers. Fingers that had touched Kristin's face last night, held her chin when he kissed her and told her he was going out with the guys, to not wait up for him; fingers -- _flash of memory_ \-- slicked up with lube, gliding into Joey's body--

"No," he said honestly, and got up to find the bathroom.

* * *

When he came back, Joey was reading the paper, coffee in one hand. It was unsettlingly domestic -- and a little lonely, somehow. Kevin sat down again, wiping his mouth.

"Sorry," he said.

"'S okay." Joey put the paper down, looked at Kevin again. "You want to..? What do you want to do?"

"Don't know." Kevin reached for his cooling coffee and gulped at it. "Talk to Kris, I guess. Maybe she won't be that mad."

Joey smirked. "I'll pray for you. Did she know -- that you were into guys?"

Kevin nodded, ran a hand through his hair. "But I-- Shit, man. I thought I was-- not anymore, you know? 'Cause I fell in love with Kris -- I _love_ her, and..." He sighed, hunching over his mug.

"Yeah." Joey extended a hand, rubbed Kevin's shoulder. "But it doesn't just go away, like. You can't -- trust me." He chuckled mirthlessly. "I tried. With Kelly? It didn't work."

Kevin looked up, raising a heavy eyebrow. "You've been-- Really?"

Joey sipped at his coffee before nodding in reply. "Yeah. I thought you knew. Remember the basketball game?" Kevin's mind flicked back to the charity basketball game they'd played -- must have been three years ago, now, maybe four -- and the after-party, and-- "I was flirting with you," Joey was saying now, smiling into Kevin's stunned eyes. "I figured you weren't interested, so."

"Well, fuck me," Kevin said, and laughed.

"Better late than never," Joey grinned.

* * *

"I hope she's not too mad at you," Joey said, at the door.

"You should hear the screaming soon enough." Kevin smiled, his hands awkward in his pockets. He forced himself to take them out, rubbing his palms on his thighs.

"It was great," Joey said sincerely. "Really. It -- you were great."

"Thanks," Kevin said, surprised. "So were you." His hand jerked, then reached up, resting on Joey's neck. His eyes closed as Kevin leaned in, meeting the Joey's mouth in a tender parting kiss.

"Maybe," Joey breathed, at the end of it, "if she's... not too mad..?"

"Maybe," Kevin found himself saying, and smiled into Joey's eyes. Letting go, he backed away a few steps before turning around, calling a "Later, man," as he headed down the sidewalk to the driveway. He was amused to realize that he was hoping his wife was as liberal as she'd often said she was.


End file.
